The Bishops’ Foundation

The Bishops’ Foundation was created by action of the Virginia Annual Conference in 2011 to provide training for leadership development of both laypersons and clergypersons in the areas of evangelism and preaching in the Wesleyan spirit. Funds previously associated with the three predecessor organizations (The Goodson Foundation, The Stockton Endowment for Evangelism, and The Bishop Pennel Endowment) form the assets of The Bishops’ Foundation. It is the intention of the Annual Conference that future gifts in honor or memory of bishops of the Conference be directed to it. The Foundation is led by a board of directors (5 clergy and 4 laity) nominated by the cabinet. Endowment funds are invested with the Virginia United Methodist Foundation.

The Bishop’s Foundation is not a funding source for scholarships or financial assistance but is an event-sponsoring or co-sponsoring organization. “Event” must be broadly defined to include various ways that the Foundation can fulfill its stated purpose of providing training for leadership development for both clergy and laity in the areas of evangelism and preaching in the Wesleyan spirit, particularly addressing “gaps” in current Conference ministry programming.

For information about the bishops honored by the Foundation, click here (pdf):

Bishop W. Kenneth Goodson who served the Virginia Conference 1972-1980

Bishop Thomas B. Stockton who served the Virginia Conference 1988-1996

Bishop Joe E. Pennel Jr. who served the Virginia Conference 1996-2004

Bishop Young Jin Cho who served the Virginia Conference 2012-2016

To best serve the Virginia Conference in supporting clergy and lay educational endeavors, the Bishops’ Foundation seeks to obtain requests in advance of their scheduled meetings. It is our preference to review submissions during our scheduled meeting so that foundation members can be fully informed and engaged in discussions regarding each request.

For additional information about the work of The Bishops’ Foundation, contact the Rev. Marc Brown at (804) 521-1133 or MarcBrown@vaumc.org; PO Box 5606, Glen Allen, VA 23058.

The Cross and Flame is a registered trademark, and the use is supervised by the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) of The United Methodist Church. Permission to use the Cross and Flame must be obtained from the GCFA, Attn: Legal Department, PO Box 340029, Nashville, TN 37203-0029; phone 615-369-2334; fax 615-369-2330